SYDNEY: The Australian and New Zealand dollars were flat on Wednesday after coming under pressure overnight with the greenback drifting higher, as investors waited for news on US-China trade talks.
The Aussie was flat at $0.6490, having slipped 0.4% overnight to as low as $0.6473.
It is having trouble breaking above the key 65-cent level; support is around $0.6440.
The kiwi was also little changed at $0.5741, after finishing mostly flat on Tuesday.
It is facing some resistance at $0.5752, while support is at a six-month low of $0.5684.
“The slight risk-off sentiment in overnight trade was driven by the US president telling reporters that his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping may ‘not go ahead’,” said Pat Bustamante, a senior economist at Westpac.
US President Donald Trump said overnight that he would discuss a range of issues with Xi in two weeks, but there was a chance that the meeting might not happen.
Analysts at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia said given the many issues at play, an extension to the deadline of a trade deal was more likely than a comprehensive trade agreement.
“Hopes of a de-escalation of US-China trade tensions will support AUD/USD,” said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at CBA.
In the broader foreign exchange market, the dollar stood tall after three straight sessions of gains, in part helped by the weakness in the Japanese yen after hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi was elected as the country’s prime minister.
New Zealand’s ten-year government bond yields were pinned near a 2-1/2-year-low of 3.955%, just a touch above the key chart level of 3.940%.
If breached, that would mark the lowest level in yields since 2022.
Investors have fully priced in a quarter-point rate cut from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in November, and even a 56% possibility of a final cut to a terminal rate of 2% early next year.
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